Hands are friends... NOT FOOD!!!!

[Steven.]

Hey guys. As you well know i've been working with prime, since he woke up in march. I've had some progress, slow progress but progress..lol. Now another issue has come up. I can't hold him at all anymore. Everytime i put my hands in his enclousure to get him, he flicks couple of times, his pupil goes small and he tries to bite my hand. This has been going on for couple of weeks now. So I figured he might be hungry in the morning, so i started feeding him in his enclosure upstairs and not in the feeding bin. After he's done eating i try to pick him up. Same thing. the flicking and then the biting. Everytime i put my hand close to him he flicks, but i don't know anymore if its because he's getting ready to climb on or bite me..lol. So i pull my hands away as soon as the flicking starts. I do mix up his food with my bare hands, no gloves or anything. Maybe my scent is getting attached to his food?... I don't know what it is. But it has put a big pause on my taming process. I use to be able to put him in his outside enclosure after he eats to get some sun. No issues. Take him out of there. No issues. Put him in the tub. No issues. Put him on my bed or even in my laps for couple hours a day and i've had no issues. Now the attacking of my hand started and i cant even hold him. No one else has tried holding him cause he biten two of my family members already... I need some advice and help guys.. I'm at a loss..:huh:

 

[Bntegus]

maybe he is not getting enough food how big is he and how much are you feeding and what are you feeding.

 

[Renske]

If you are scared he will try to bite you again and again. It sounds like you put your hand in the cage and take it back every time he makes a move. He will feel your are afraid of him and he will be more angry.
I adopted a black and white male when he was 3 years old and i have a female sinds she was 2 months old. The female i raced my self and is so tame i can put her mouth open take her tong out and do every thing with her. She will not bite me. The male on the other hand was very frustrated when i just got him. He would run at every body and try to bite your throat. The boy was very afraid of him and when he handeld him he was alway strugeling with his fear. Puting his hands out and take it back. Thats wy he gave the male to me. He could not handel him...
After one week. He stopt trying to kill me and after 2 weeks i could sit with him on the couge and stroke him. How I can kiss him on his head stroke him hug him take him outside. Let other people stroke him. He is not frustrated anymore.
Don't let him know your afraid.
But you have to go through 1 year, when he is in his puberty. Thats when he wil be very agressive and you can't do anything about it.

 

[Beastraiser626]

I would recommend not feeding in his enclosure because it signals him that when the cage it's opened food is coming and is ready to chow down when you want to take him out. I would try to remove as many associations to your hands and food as you can by feeding him in outside his enclosure, with tongs, our even trying to clicker or target train him but one thing for sure is he at least should be fed outside the enclose.to pick him up without getting stacked you can block his view by placing a towel or something over him or using a panel to block view of the side you are grabbing him from until he has calmed down to the point inhere that is no longer necessary. that is somethings I had to do with my monitor

 

[Steven.]

Um. These are interesting post... Thanks guys..

Sent from my phone to your eyes

 

[Dana C]

I told Capt'n Jack about the hand / food thing. His reply was "Damn Dana, ye could'a told me a mite sooner don'cha know. Here I was a think'in they was a whole mess a cocktail weenies!)

 

[Steven.]

Lol what?... Just reading that is funny..lol

Sent from my phone to your eyes

 

[monstruo-the-tegu]

i have the same problem with Monstruo but he isn't like doing it with aggression. Hes attacking my hand hes like being a stealthy tegu but then i realized i had a little bit of turkey on my hands.

 

[fisheric]

put on some gloves and get him out. let him bite a few times and see that it is not effective.

 

[KSTAR]

i never feed them by hand or in theyre enclosures i always take them out theyre enclosures and put theyre food in theyre food bowls and let them walk up to theyre bowls and eat so ive never had to deal with this hand problem but im pretty sure once you stay consistent with removing him from his enclosure to eat and your not doing it by hand he will stop the habit in no time

 

[Steven.]

So i've been trying everything i could. Still no luck. I can't take him out to feed him. Its been 2 days nows. I still have the lights on everyday so he can bask. I tried putting on of my shirts under his basking spot and he flicked couple of times, closed his eyes while he was heavy breathing, and then after a couple of minutes he climbed on. But as soon as my hands gets close to him he flicks and flicks and then he starts to stalk it..lol.. I dont know what to do. I want to try to avoid feeding him in his cage cause then he might get use to feeding in the enclosure, but i dont want to starve him. He's gonna be 1 year old next month and i still can't hold him when i please. I can't even touch him without a tail whip or puffing noise...

---

Maybe i should just get some gloves and pick him up even if he whips and puffs like a dragon... I think he knows that when he does that we leave him alone for couple of hours, so he does it all the time. I've never forced handled him. I've always tried to get him moving and then put my hand in his walkway and pick him up that way. But i guess he thinks he a man now lol

 

[Steven.]

Just an update. I decided to keep him in his outside enclosure for a night... And wow what a difference... He is so much calmer in this 40 gallon than he is in 4x2x2 cage in my room. You can hold him and put your hands in the cage without him flipping out.. Now that he's much calmer i think ill leave him in the 40 for a little until he gets a bit bigger.. Then put him back.. I want to start rubbing his back and holding him with a closed hand because he has tried to run outta my hand couple of times...lol.. Any suggestions on the new training?...

Sent from my phone to your eyes

---

O btw he flips when you touch his back. Tail. Legs and top of his head. Lol... Some pet uh..

Sent from my phone to your eyes

 

[Dirtydmc]

no food in his house. Ever........ he will love your hands if they bring him to food thats allready waiting for him. I prepare Dexters food, place it in a box and wash my hands before I get him. Was feeding in the house but he started running at me with food excitment and bit me too. Its over now.

 

[Scott_k]

Have you tried tong feeding? Tyson was very food aggressive when I first got him and I believe that by feeding him with tongs he learned to distinguish my hands from the tongs. Meaning that when I appraoched him with tongs he's revved up and ready to eat, and when I approached him without tongs he was very docile. And I have to disagree with people who say never feed them in the enclosure( I'm going off this with my own expirence with a red tegu and a savannah both of them will eat inside or outside the enclosure and not show food aggression). In this situation I don't see how trying to tong feed to build a little trust won't hurt.